Battery module and battery pack including the same

ABSTRACT

A battery pack includes a plurality of battery modules, and each battery module includes: a plurality of battery cells mutually laminated in a first direction and forming a laminated structure; a pair of end plates, each end plate of the pair of end plates being in surface contact with a first and a second ends of the laminated structure, respectively, in the first direction; and a pair of busbar assemblies. In particular, each bus bar assembly of the pair of bus bar assemblies is disposed at the first end and the second end of the laminated structure, respectively, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of non-provisional U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/394,884, filed on Aug. 5, 2021, whichclaims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2020-0124110, filed on Sep. 24, 2020, the entire contents of each ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a battery module and a battery packincluding the same.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Recently, according to the worldwide trends of carbon dioxide emissionreduction, demands for an electric car have been greatly increased whichgenerates driving power through driving of a motor with electric energystored in an energy storage device such as a battery, instead of atypical internal combustion engine car which generates driving powerthrough combustion of fossil fuels.

The performance of the electric car greatly depends on the capacity andperformance of the battery corresponding to an energy storage device forstoring electric energy provided to a driving motor.

The vehicle battery, which stores the electric energy supplied to themotor to generate the driving power of the vehicle, not only should haveexcellent electrical-side characteristics, such as excellentcharge/discharge performance and long use lifespan, but also shouldprovide the high-level mechanical-side performance capable of beingrobust against a harsh vehicle driving environment, such as hightemperature and high vibration.

Further, from the standpoint of a vehicle manufacturer, it isadvantageous to configure the battery hardware in the form of a modulehaving a standardized size or capacity so as to be consistently appliedto various vehicle types.

The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of thebackground of the present disclosure, and is not intended to mean thatthe present disclosure falls within the purview of the related art thatis already known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is proposed to solve the above-mentionedproblems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide abattery module having standardized size and capacity so as to beconsistently applied to various vehicle types, and a battery packincluding the battery module.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, a battery module includes: aplurality of battery cells mutually laminated in a first direction; apair of end plates being in surface contact with both ends of alaminated structure in the first direction, respectively, in which theplurality of battery cells are laminated; and a pair of busbarassemblies disposed at both ends of the laminated structure in a seconddirection vertical to the first direction, and each including a busbarconfigured to mutually join electrodes of the plurality of battery cellslocated at the both ends in the second direction, a circuit board onwhich an electrical connection to the busbar is formed, and a connectorinstalled on the circuit board and electrically connected to the busbarassembly through the circuit board.

In one form of the present disclosure, the busbar may include aplurality of slits, and each of the electrodes of the plurality ofbattery cells may have a bent portion penetrating the slit and joined tothe busbar.

In one form of the present disclosure, both side ends of the busbar maybe bent in the first direction, and the electrode of the battery celldisposed at an outermost side in the laminated structure may be joinedto the both bent side ends of the busbar in a state that the electrodeis not bent.

In one form of the present disclosure, mutually insulated busbarsincluded in one of the pair of busbar assemblies may be electricallyconnected to different pins of the connector in a mutually insulatedstate through a circuit pattern formed on the circuit board.

In one form of the present disclosure, the busbar may be screw-fastenedto the circuit board.

In one form of the present disclosure, the battery module may furtherinclude: a first cover configured to cover one side of the laminatedstructure in a third direction vertical to the first direction and thesecond direction; a first clamp having both ends joined to the pair ofend plates, respectively, across the first cover from an outer surfaceof the first cover; and a second clamp having both ends joined to thepair of end plates, respectively, across a surface of the laminatedstructure facing a surface on which the first cover is disposed.

In one form of the present disclosure, the battery module may furtherinclude a second cover and a third cover configured to cover thelaminated structure in the second direction from outsides of the pair ofbusbar assemblies, respectively.

In one form of the present disclosure, the laminated structure mayinclude a plurality of cell assemblies each including a pair of batterycells laminated with a surface pressure pad interposed therebetween, andthe plurality of cell assemblies may be laminated in the firstdirection.

In one form of the present disclosure, the cell assembly may include thelaminated battery cells whose electrodes having the same polarity areadjacently disposed.

In one form of the present disclosure, the laminated structure mayinclude the laminated cell assemblies whose electrodes having differentpolarities are adjacent to each other.

In one form of the present disclosure, the plurality of cell assembliesmay be laminated with a hot-melt interposed therebetween.

In one form of the present disclosure, each of the pair of end platesmay include an inner plate formed of an insulation material and being insurface contact with the laminated structure and an outer plateconfigured to cover the inner plate from an outer surface of the innerplate and having stiffness higher than that of the inner plate.

In one form of the present disclosure, the outer plate may be molded onan end portion adjacent to the first cover so as to be spaced apart by apredetermined distance from the laminated structure, and may form aninsertion space for inserting a temperature sensor therein.

In one form of the present disclosure, the first clamp may be attachedto the first cover, and the both ends of the first clamp may be bent toface the pair of end plates and may be joined to outer surfaces of theend plates.

In one form of the present disclosure, the both ends of the second clampmay be bent to face the pair of end plates and may be joined to theouter surfaces of the end plates.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a battery pack includes: aplurality of battery modules each including a plurality of battery cellsmutually laminated in a first direction, a pair of end plates being insurface contact with both ends in the first direction of a laminatedstructure, respectively, in which the plurality of battery cells arelaminated, and a pair of busbar assemblies disposed at both ends,respectively, in a second direction vertical to the first direction ofthe laminated structure, and each including a busbar configured tomutually join electrodes of the plurality of battery cells located atthe both ends in the second direction, a circuit board on which anelectrical connection to the busbar is formed, and a connector installedon the circuit board and electrically connected to the busbar assemblythrough the circuit board; a lower case on which the plurality ofbattery modules are seated; and a cell management unit configured todetect voltages of the battery cells in the battery modules throughelectric wirings connected to the connector of at least a part of theplurality of battery modules.

According to the battery module and the battery pack including the same,since the clamps are welded to both the end plates in the centerportions of the battery module in the direction in which the batterycells are laminated, and the end plates are bolt-joined to the covers inthe both end portions of the battery module, sufficient stiffness can besecured.

Further, according to the battery module and the battery pack includingthe same, since the busbar assemblies are adopted and the electricalconnection between the electrodes of the plurality of laminated batterycells can be formed through one bending process and one welding process,the processes can be simplified, and the manufacturing quality can beimproved through removal of the result deviation between the batterycells.

Further, according to the battery module and the battery pack includingthe same, since the battery cells constituting the battery pack areproduced in the form of a module, the standardized battery cells can beapplied to the battery pack having various specifications even if thespecification of the battery pack is changed in accordance with thevehicle type. Therefore, a separate design process for disposal of thebattery cells in the battery pack can be omitted, and thus thedevelopment period and the development costs can be reduced.

Further, According to the battery module and the battery pack includingthe same, since the battery cells in the battery module can come incontact with the seating surface of the battery pack case through thegap filler without any other interference element, the heat generatedfrom the battery cells can be discharged more effectively.

The effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are notlimited to the above-mentioned effects, and other unmentioned effectswill be able to be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in theart to which the present disclosure pertains from the followingdescriptions.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now bedescribed various forms thereof, given by way of example, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module according to one formof the present disclosure when viewed from the top;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the battery module illustrated in FIG. 1when viewed from the bottom;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module illustratedin FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a cellassembly in a battery module according to one form of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a batterycell laminated structure of a battery module according to one form ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationshipbetween a laminated structure and end plates of a battery moduleaccording to one form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of each of an outer surface and an innersurface of an end plate illustrated in FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating in more detail aninsertion space formed in an outer plate illustrated in FIG. 7 ;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationshipbetween a laminated structure and busbar assemblies of a battery moduleaccording to one form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a busbar assembly applied to abattery module according to one form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating a joined state of a busbar of thebusbar assembly illustrated in FIG. 10 and battery cell electrodes in alaminated structure;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a joined state of the busbar assemblyillustrated in FIG. 10 and a laminated structure when viewed in a thirddirection;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a structure in which anelectrode of an outermost battery cell of a laminated structure isjoined to the busbar assembly illustrated in FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 14 is a plan view illustrating a connection state of a busbar in afront busbar assembly illustrated in FIG. 12 and a circuit board;

FIG. 15 is a plan view illustrating a connection state of a busbar in arear busbar assembly illustrated in FIG. 12 and a circuit board;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationship amonga cover, a first clamp and a second clamp, and a laminated structure ofa battery module according to one form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating one end portion of the first clampillustrated in FIG. 12 ;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationship amonga second cover, a third cover, and a laminated structure of a batterymodule according to one form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating in detail an assembled structure of asecond cover and a third cover in a battery module according to one formof the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a plan view illustrating a battery pack in which batterymodules are disposed according to one form of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 21 is a plan view illustrating in more detail one portion of thebattery pack illustrated in FIG. 20 .

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

Hereinafter, a battery module and a battery pack including the batterymodule according to various forms will be described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module according to one formof the present disclosure when viewed from the top, FIG. 2 is aperspective view of the battery module illustrated in FIG. 1 when viewedfrom the bottom, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of thebattery module illustrated in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a battery module 10 according to one form ofthe present disclosure may include: a plurality of battery cells 110mutually laminated in a first direction (x-axis direction); a pair ofend plates 20 being in surface contact with both ends of a laminatedstructure 100 in the first direction, respectively, in which theplurality of battery cells 110 are laminated; a pair of busbarassemblies 30 disposed at both ends in a second direction (y-axisdirection) vertical to the first direction of the laminated structure100 in which the plurality of battery cells 110 are laminated, thebattery cells 110 having electrodes mutually joined to one another; afirst cover 40 configured to cover one side of the laminated structure100 in which the plurality of battery cells 110 are laminated in a thirddirection (z-axis direction) vertical to the first direction and thesecond direction; a first clamp 51 having both ends joined to the pairof end plates 20, respectively, across the first cover 40 from an outersurface of the first cover 40; and a second clamp 52 having both endsjoined to the two end plates 20, respectively, across a surface of thelaminated structure 100, in which the plurality of battery cells 110 arelaminated and which faces a surface on which the first cover isdisposed.

In addition, the battery module according to one form of the presentdisclosure may further include a second cover and a third coverconfigured to cover the laminated structure 100, in which the batterycells 110 are laminated, in the second direction from outsides of thebusbar assemblies 30, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a cellassembly in a battery module according to one form of the presentdisclosure, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the structureof a battery cell laminated structure of a battery module according toone form of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , a laminated structure, in which a pluralityof battery cells 110 are laminated, may include cell assemblies 11 eachincluding two battery cells 110 and a surface pressure pad 120interposed therebetween, by mutually laminating one battery cell 110,the surface pressure pad 120, and the other battery cell 110. That is,as illustrated in FIG. 5 , the laminated structure 100 may be producedby laminating the plurality of cell assemblies 11 as illustrated in FIG.4 .

In one battery cell assembly 11, the respective battery cells 110 may bedisposed so that electrodes (e.g., cathode electrodes 111 a or anodeelectrodes 111 b) having the same polarity are adjacent to each other.

The surface pressure pad 120 is an element that provides, when thebattery cell 100 is swelled, elasticity thereto and inhibits the modulestructure from being deformed.

The plurality of cell assemblies 11 may be mutually laminated with ahot-melt H interposed therebetween. The hot-melt H is a kind of liquidjoining agent whose adhesiveness is manifested in case that heat isapplied thereto, and may be applied onto the surface of the battery cell110 in a predetermined pattern before the mutual lamination of theplurality of cell assemblies 11. The location relationship between thebattery cells can be implemented as desired by aligning the laminatedbattery cells after the lamination of the cell assemblies 11 andapplying heat thereto at once.

In the laminated structure, the respective cell assemblies 11 may belaminated so that the electrodes having different polarities areadjacent to each other. This is to establish an electrically serialconnection relationship between the cell assemblies in case that thebusbars of the busbar assemblies 30 to be described later and thebattery cell electrodes are connected to one another. That is, thebattery cells in the cell assemblies 11 may mutually form theelectrically serial connection relationship with one another, and theelectrically serial connection relationship may be formed between thecell assemblies 11.

Hereinafter, for convenience in explanation, it is assumed that adirection in which the battery cells 110 are laminated is a firstdirection (x-axis direction), and a direction vertical to the firstdirection, in which the electrodes of the battery cells 110 areconnected to one another, is a second direction (y-axis direction).Further, it is assumed that a direction vertical to the first directionand the second direction, that is, a direction where sides of thebattery cells 110, on which the electrodes of the battery cells 110 arenot formed, are connected together is a third direction (z-axisdirection).

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationshipbetween a laminated structure and end plates of a battery moduleaccording to one form of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the pair of end plates 20 may be disposed tocome in surface contact with surfaces located at both ends of thelaminated structure 100 in the first direction that is the laminationdirection of the battery cell laminated structure 100, that is, exposedsurfaces of the battery cells located outermost sides among theplurality of battery cells 110 constituting the laminated structure 100.

The pair of end plates 20 are elements that are mutually maintained at aconstant interval, and if the battery cells 110 swell, inhibit, usingtheir own stiffness, the battery module from being deformed, anduniformly maintain the surface pressure between the laminated batterycells 110. Accordingly, the end plates 20 should have stiffness enoughto inhibit the deformation in the battery module while maintaining thesurface contact with the battery cells 110, and may also include anadditional means for uniform surface pressure.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of each of an outer surface and an innersurface of an end plate illustrated in FIG. 6 .

As illustrated in FIG. 7 , each of the end plates 20 may include anouter plate 201 exposed to an outside of the battery module and an innerplate 202 covered by the outer plate 201 and being in surface contactwith the battery laminated structure 100. The outer plate 201 may beimplemented by a metal material, such as aluminum, so as to achievelightweight while providing sufficient stiffness. The inner plate 202may have stiffness lower than the stiffness of the outer plate 201, andmay be implemented by an insulation material, such as plastic, capableof securing electrical insulation in case that the inner plate 202 comesin surface contact with the outermost battery cell 110 of the laminatedstructure 100.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating in more detail aninsertion space formed in an outer plate illustrated in FIG. 7 .

In one form of the present disclosure, on a side located in the seconddirection of the outer plate 201 of the end plate 20, an insertion spaceT may be formed, into which a temperature sensor that is spaced apart bya predetermined distance from the laminated structure 100 can beinserted by applying various metal forming technologies. An area inwhich the insertion space T is formed corresponds to a portion indicatedby reference numeral “A” in FIGS. 1, 6, and 7 , and FIG. 8 correspondsto a cross-section view obtained by cutting the area corresponding to“A” in the first direction.

According to one form of the present disclosure, one battery pack may beimplemented by disposing the plurality of battery modules in a casedesigned to suit the vehicle type. In order to manage the battery pack,it is very important to grasp an internal temperature thereof, and thebattery modules are produced typically in the form in which temperaturesensors are built therein. According to one form of the presentdisclosure, the temperature sensor is not built in the battery moduleitself, but the space T in which the temperature sensor can be installedmay be provided after the plurality of battery modules are disposed inthe case.

In particular, according to the battery module 10 according to one formof the present disclosure, the battery cells are exposed withoutproviding a separate covering means on an opposite surface facing thesurface on which the first cover 40 is installed, and the surface fromwhich the battery cells are exposed is disposed toward a bottom surfaceof the case. Accordingly, the temperature sensor insertion space T maybe formed at an end portion of the outer plate 201, adjacent to thefirst cover 40, so as to provide a predetermined space between thebattery cell laminated structure and the outer plate 201.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationshipbetween a laminated structure and busbar assemblies of a battery moduleaccording to one form of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 9 , the busbar assemblies 30 may be installed atboth ends of the laminated structure 100 in the second direction that isvertical to the lamination direction of the battery cell laminatedstructure 100, that is, in the direction in which the electrodes 111 a,111 b of the battery cells 110 are connected to one another.

The busbar assemblies 30 are elements that are provided with busbars forforming electrical connection between the electrodes 111 a, 111 b of thebattery cells 110 in the laminated structure 100.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a busbar assembly applied to abattery module according to one form of the present disclosure, FIG. 11is a plan view illustrating a joined state of a busbar of the busbarassembly illustrated in FIG. 10 and battery cell electrodes in alaminated structure, when viewed in the second direction, and FIG. 12 isa plan view of a joined state of the busbar assembly illustrated in FIG.10 and a laminated structure, when viewed in the third direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the busbar assembly 30 may include a frame31 formed of an insulation material such as plastic, and busbars 32attached to the frame 31 and having slits 33 into which the electrodes111 a, 111 b of the battery cells 110 can be inserted. An intervalbetween the slits 33 may be an interval corresponding to an intervalbetween the electrodes 111 a, 111 b of the battery cells 110 located inthe laminated structure 100. The frame 31 may include partitions 35formed in areas between the busbars, which should be electricallyinsulated from one another.

The busbar assembly 30 may include a circuit board 34 for monitoringvoltages of the battery cells 110 belonging to the battery module. Here,the circuit board 34 may include a board, such as a PCB, on which acircuit pattern is printed, and electric devices mounted on the board asnecessary.

As illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 , if the electrodes 111 a, 111 b ofthe battery cells 110 are inserted into the slits 33 formed on thebusbars 32 of the busbar assembly 30, all the electrodes 111 a, 111 b ofthe battery cells 110 may be bent at once to come in contact with thebusbars 32, and then the busbars 32 and the electrodes 111 a, 111 b ofthe battery cells 110 may be joined to one another through one weldingprocess.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a structure in which anelectrode of an outermost battery cell of a laminated structure isjoined to the busbar assembly illustrated in FIG. 10 .

As illustrated in FIG. 13 , the electrode of a battery cell 110-1disposed at the outermost side of the laminated structure may not beinserted into the slit 33 formed on the busbar 32, but may be welded andjoined to a side end portion of the busbar 32 having a structure, bentin parallel to the second direction, without separate bending.

In FIG. 11 , the reference numeral “W” denotes an area onto whichwelding energy for welding is irradiated. Further, in FIG. 12 , thereference numeral “30-1” indicates a busbar assembly installed on onesurface in the second direction, and the reference numeral “30-2”indicates a busbar assembly installed on the other surface in the seconddirection. For convenience in explanation, the busbar assemblycorresponding to the reference numeral “30-1” is referred to as a frontbusbar assembly, and the busbar assembly corresponding to the referencenumeral “30-2” is referred to as a rear busbar assembly.

In case of the battery module in the related art, an electrode of a unitbattery cell is bent in advance, primary welding is performed, aplurality of unit battery cells are re-laminated, and then secondarywelding is re-performed, thereby implementing an electrical connectionof the battery cell laminated structure. Such a battery module in therelated art may have disadvantages in that a large number of bending andwelding processes is performed, and a step height occurs on a weldingtarget during the secondary welding since it is difficult to provideuniformity.

However, according to one form of the present disclosure, it is possibleto form an electrical connection between all the battery cells in thebattery module through one bending process and one welding process byapplying the busbar assembly 30, thereby simplifying the processes andimproving the manufacturing quality.

FIG. 14 is a plan view illustrating a connection state of a busbar in afront busbar assembly illustrated in FIG. 12 and a circuit board, andFIG. 15 is a plan view illustrating a connection state of a busbar in arear busbar assembly illustrated in FIG. 12 and a circuit board.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15 , the busbars 32 in each busbarassembly may be electrically connected to the circuit board 34. Morespecifically, the respective busbars electrically insulated from oneanother may be connected to conductive patterns, which are in a mutuallyinsulated state, and are formed on the circuit board 34, through screws342, and the respective conductive patterns in the circuit board 34 maybe electrically connected to pins of a connector 341, respectively.

In case that a plurality of battery modules are disposed in a batterypack, electrical connections may be formed on the connector 341 providedin the front and rear busbar assemblies 30-1, 30-2 of each batterymodule, and voltages of the battery cells in the battery module can bedetected and monitored. The voltage of the battery cell may be managedthrough a cell management unit (CMU) installed in the battery pack.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationship amonga cover, a first clamp and a second clamp, and a laminated structure ofa battery module according to one form of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 16 , the first cover 40 may be disposed at oneend of the laminated structure 100 in the third direction of the batterycell laminated structure 100.

Further, the first clamp 51 having a bar structure and extending alongthe first direction outside the first cover 40 may be disposed acrossthe laminated structure 100, and both ends of the first clamp 51 may bejoined to the pair of end plates 20, respectively.

Further, in the vicinity of the other surface facing one surface of thelaminated structure 100 on which the first cover 40 is disposed, thesecond clamp 52 having a bar structure and extending along the firstdirection may be disposed across the laminated structure 100, and bothends of the second clamp 52 may be joined to the pair of end plates 20,respectively.

The first clamp 51 may be fixed to the first cover 40 through heatfusion, and since the both ends of the first clamp 51 are joined to thetwo end plates 20, respectively, the first clamp 51 may constantlymaintain the distance between the two end plates 20 even during theswelling of the battery cell 110. Further, the second clamp 52 may bedisposed to be spaced apart from and adjacent to the exposed surface(lower surface in the drawing) of the laminated structure 100, and inthe same manner as the first clamp 51, the second clamp 52 mayconstantly maintain the distance between the two end plates 20 evenduring the swelling of the battery cell.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating one end portion of the first clampillustrated in FIG. 12 .

As illustrated in FIG. 17 , the end portion of the first clamp 51 mayhave a hook-like structure bent in the direction of the end plate 20,and the bent end portion may face the outer surface of the end plate 20.The bent end portion may be fixed to the end plate by being welded tothe outer surface that is adjacent to one side of the end plate 20 (“W”:welding area). The joining structure illustrated in FIG. 11 may beapplied even to the second clamp 52 in the same manner.

As described above, the first clamp 51 is joined to each side (upperside in the drawing) of the two end plates, and the second clamp 52 isjoined to each long side (lower side in the drawing) of the two endplates 20 to which the first clamp 51 is joined, so that the intervalbetween the two end plates is constantly maintained in the centerportion in the second direction of the end plates, and thus stiffness bythe end plates can act on the internal battery cells.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a location relationship amonga second cover, a third cover, and a laminated structure of a batterymodule according to one form of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 18 , the second cover 60 and the third cover 60may be disposed at both ends of the laminated structure 100,respectively, in the second direction that is vertical to the laminationdirection of the battery cell laminated structure 100, that is, in thedirection in which the electrodes 111 a, 111 b of the battery cells 110are connected to one another. Here, the second cover 60 and the thirdcover 60 have substantially the same construction and are installed insymmetrical locations of the battery module 10, and thus are denoted bythe same reference numeral.

By installing the second cover 60 and the third cover 60, the busbarassemblies 30 are covered to finally complete the battery module 10. Thesecond cover 60 and the third cover 60 may include through-holes forexposing elements that should be exposed to an outside of the batterymodule (e.g., a part of the busbar to be exposed for external electricalconnection, connector for providing information on cell voltagedetection, and the like) among the elements provided in the busbarassemblies 30.

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating in detail an assembled structure of asecond cover and a third cover in a battery module according to one formof the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 19 , side portions of the second cover 60 and thethird cover 60 may come in contact with the end plate 20. The sideportions of the end plate 20, the second cover 60, and the third cover60 may be joined to one another through bolts 21. Although notillustrated, the two end plates 20 may be joined to the cover 60 in amanner that the bolts 21 are joined to both ends of one long nutdisposed inside the cover 60.

In addition, on the side portions of the second cover 60 and the thirdcover 60, a catching projection 61 projecting in the first direction maybe formed, and an edge of the end plate 20 may get caught by thecatching projection 61 to form mutual assembly regulations.

FIG. 20 is a plan view illustrating a battery pack in which batterymodules are disposed according to one form of the present disclosure,and FIG. 21 is a plan view illustrating in more detail one portion ofthe battery pack illustrated in FIG. 20 .

As illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21 , the battery module 10 according toone form of the present disclosure may be seated on a lower case 910 ofa battery pack 900 with a predetermined array pattern. On the busbarassembly of each battery module 10 according to one form of the presentdisclosure, the connector 341 that can be used to detect the batteryvoltage is provided. Thus, by forming an electric wiring connected tothe connector 341 after disposing the battery module in the lower case910 of the battery pack 900 in a desired array form, it becomes possibleto detect and monitor the battery cell voltage in the battery module 10.

In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 21 , the connectors 341 of thepredetermined number of battery modules 10 among the plurality ofbattery modules 10 may be connected to one cell management module 930,and the one cell management module 930 may perform voltage detection andmonitoring with respect to the plurality of battery modules 10 to whichthe electric wiring is connected.

A plurality of cell management units may be installed in the batterypack 900, and may transmit, to an upper level controller using theelectric wiring 80, information on the results of battery cell voltagedetection with respect to the plurality of battery modules 10 connectedto the cell management units.

As described above, according to the battery module and the battery packincluding the same according to various forms of the present disclosure,since the clamps are welded to both the end plates in the centerportions of the battery module in the direction in which the batterycells are laminated, and the end plates are bolt-joined to the covers inthe both end portions of the battery module, sufficient stiffness can beprovided.

Further, according to the battery module and the battery pack includingthe same according to various forms of the present disclosure, since thebusbar assemblies are adopted and the electrical connection between theelectrodes of the plurality of laminated battery cells can be formedthrough one bending process and one welding process, the processes canbe simplified, and the manufacturing quality can be improved throughremoval of the result deviation between the battery cells.

Further, according to the battery module and the battery pack includingthe same according to various forms of the present disclosure, since thebattery cells forming the battery pack are produced in the form of amodule, the standardized battery cells can be applied to the batter packhaving various specifications even if the specification of the batterypack is changed in accordance with the vehicle type. Therefore, aseparate design process for disposal of the battery cells in the batterypack can be omitted, and thus the development period and the developmentcosts can be reduced.

Further, According to the battery module and the battery pack includingthe same according to various forms of the present disclosure, since thebattery cells in the battery module can come in contact with the seatingsurface of the battery pack case through the gap filler without anyother interference element, the heat generated from the battery cellscan be discharged more effectively.

Although the specific forms of the present disclosure have beenillustrated and described for illustrative purposes, those of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additionsand substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope andspirit of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery pack comprising: a plurality of batterymodules, each battery module of the plurality of battery modulesincluding: a plurality of battery cells mutually laminated in a firstdirection and forming a laminated structure, a pair of end plates, eachend plate of the pair of end plates being in surface contact with afirst and a second ends of the laminated structure, respectively, in thefirst direction, and a pair of busbar assemblies, each bus bar assemblyof the pair of bus bar assemblies disposed at the first and the secondends of the laminated structure, respectively, in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction, and the each bus bar assemblyincluding: a busbar configured to mutually join electrodes of theplurality of battery cells located at the first and the second ends ofthe laminated structure in the second direction, a circuit board onwhich an electrical connection to the busbar is formed, and a connectorinstalled on the circuit board and electrically connected to the busbarassembly through the circuit board; a lower case on which the pluralityof battery modules are seated; and a cell management unit configured todetect voltages of the plurality of battery cells through electricwirings connected to the connector of at least one battery module of theplurality of battery modules.
 2. The battery pack according to claim 1,wherein the busbar comprises a plurality of slits, and each electrode ofthe electrodes of the plurality of battery cells includes a bent portionpenetrating a slit of the plurality of slits and joined to the busbar.3. The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein the bus bar includes afirst and a second side ends that are bent in the first direction, and abattery cell of the plurality of battery cells disposed at an outermostside in the laminated structure includes an electrode that is not bentand is joined to the first and the second side ends of the busbar. 4.The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein one busbar assembly ofthe pair of busbar assemblies include mutually insulated busbars thatare electrically connected to different pins of the connector in amutually insulated state through a circuit pattern formed on the circuitboard.
 5. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the busbar isscrew-fastened to the circuit board.